Alert archive / Nevada / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1987

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 4, NWS Las Vegas, NV

November 5, 1987Clark County, Nevada

NWS Las Vegas, NV issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Nov 5, 1987, 2:23 AM PST for Clark County, Nevada. It was in force for 67 min.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 5, 1987, 2:23 AM PST (10:23 UTC)
Expired
Nov 5, 1987, 3:30 AM PST
In force
67 min
Issued by
NWS Las Vegas, NV
Area
Whole counties

County Clark County, NV

The radar

The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.

The nearest sounding before it

Mercury/Desert R, NV (KDRA), launched 00:00Z, 10.4 hours before the alert went out and 99 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1987-11-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Mercury/Desert R, NV at 00:00Z on 1987-11-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 95 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2436 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
32 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
95 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KLAS 051023
SVRLAS
NVC003-051130-
 
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS NV
223 AM PST THU NOV 5 1987
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
EFFECTIVE UNTIL  330 AM PST FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTY...
 
IN SOUTH NEVADA
          ...CLARK
 
LAS VEGAS RADAR SHOWS A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 10 MILES EAST OF LAS
VEGAS OVER THE COMMUNITIES OF HENDERSON AND BOULDER CITY.  THE
STORM WAS MOVING NORTHWEST AT 25 MPH AND WILL AFFECT EASTERN
CLARK COUNTY FOR THE NEXT HOUR.
 
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WIND IN EXCESS OF 55
MPH...DESTRUCTIVE HAIL...DEADLY LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION MOVE TO AN INTERIOR ROOM ON THE LOWEST FLOOR
OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS.  HEAVY RAINS FLOOD ROADS QUICKLY SO
DON'T DRIVE INTO AREAS WHERE WATER COVERS THE ROAD.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 4, 11:21 PM PST, 3 hours 2 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
1120 PM PST WED NOV 04 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS ARE DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA...

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE THE CALIFORNIA COAST IS BEGINNING TO MOVE
INLAND TONIGHT.

THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING NUMBEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
SOUTHERN NEVADA TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY.

MOTORISTS IN SOUTHERN NEVADA SHOULD USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING TONIGHT
AND THURSDAY. THE ROADS AND HIGHWAYS WILL BECOME SLIPPERY.

MINOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS..UNDERPASSES..WASHES AND OTHER LOW LAYING
AREAS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE HEAVIER SHOWERS.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..T.V. OR HOCAL RADIO FOR LATER INFORMATION.
DODD/0720Z'
Special weather statement, Nov 4, 11:32 PM PST, 2 hours 51 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT...CORRECTED...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
1120 PM PST WED NOV 04 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS AND SHOWERS ARE DEVELOPING OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA...

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE THE CALIFORNIA COAST IS BEGINNING TO MOVE
INLAND TONIGHT.

THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING NUMBEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO
SOUTHERN NEVADA TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY.

MOTORISTS IN SOUTHERN NEVADA SHOULD USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING TONIGHT
AND THURSDAY. THE ROADS AND HIGHWAYS WILL BECOME SLIPPERY.

MINOR FLOODING OF ROADWAYS..UNDERPASSES..WASHES AND OTHER LOW LAYING
AREAS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE HEAVIER SHOWERS.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO..T.V. AND LOCAL RADIO STATIONS FOR LAT,ER
INFORMATION.
DODD/0720Z
Special weather statement, Nov 5, 2:02 AM PST, 21 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LAS VEGAS, NV
200 AM PST THU NOV 05 1987

...THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHERN NEVADA...

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF THE THE CALIFORNIA COAST IS BEGINNING TO MOVE
INLAND TONIGHT.  AS IT DOES...THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO INTENSIFY
OVER PARTS OF SOUTHERN NEVADA.

AT 145 AM LAS VEGAS RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
MOVEMENT WAS TO THE NORTHWEST AT 25 MPH.  MOST OF THE ACTIVITY HAS
BEEN OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...BUT THE STORMS ARE EXPECTED TO
AFFECT ALL OF SOUTHERN NEVADA DURING TODAY.

THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAINS...STRONG GUSTY WINDS...
DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND POSSIBLY SOME HAIL.

MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING THIS MORNING.  KEEP AN EYE
ON THE WEATHER AND BE PREPARED FOR SUDDEN WINDS OR HEAVY SHOWERS.
SDB/1000Z

The office that day

Everything else NWS Las Vegas, NV issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 5, 8:47 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningVEFClark58 min
Nov 5, 8:47 AM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningVEFClark58 min
Nov 5, 11:17 AM PSTFlash Flood WarningVEFClark118 min
Nov 5, 11:17 AM PSTSevere Thunderstorm WarningVEFClark118 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Nevada, 1987Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1987

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.